Rain, Rain, Go Away.

It's the fourth straight day of rain and the first time I've been mildly unenchanted with the city.  In Beantown's defense, I'd feel the same way about anywhere I have to walk in a deluge every time I leave the cover of indoors.  Here are some things that make it feel not so grey...

My fun umbrella.

Old photos.

The polka dots inside my raincoat.

A vintage hamburger coaster set.

Red rain boots.

Having no where to be.

As nice as it is to fall asleep to the pitter patter of rain I'm ready for it to stop so I can play in the sun...

Restaurant Week.

Whoever thought of Restaurant Week, I would like to hug around the neck and then thank profusely.  What a marvelous idea.  My girlfriend and I were lucky enough to dine at Mistral.  It's one of the cities finest eateries...

Trendy sitting area.

If you insist.

Now I know why it's on the top of every restaurant list.  The atmosphere is chic, the food is to die for, it was so much fun just to say I went.  Onto the good stuff...

First course.

Not wanting food envy, my friend and I ordered the same appetizer and entree.  We began with a lovely  Chilled Summer Corn Soup with Avocado & Jumbo Lump Crab, finished with a jalapeno oil.  We didn't realize how smart it was was until our Skillet Roasted Sirloin with “Pommes de Terres Lyonnaise”, Crumbled English Stilton & Port Wine Sauce arrvied. There was no way we were willing to share...

Second course.

Dessert was a different story.  Wanting the best of both worlds, we happily split the Dark Chocolate Mousse and Warm Peach & Almond Tarte with Vanilla Ice Cream and Basil Syrup.  You can bet I'll be back next year...

Third course.

Part two.

I Need a New Hobby.

For whatever reason I have been in a baking frenzy the last month!  My most recent (and most successful) endeavor was a breakfast bread I made for out of town guests.  And I nailed it.  This recipe knocks it out of the park and beyond...

CHOCOLATE CHIP ORANGE ZUCCHINI BREAD

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 TBSP orange zest

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9x5 loaf pans.

Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices.

Note to self: invest in a sifter.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, nuts, chocolate chips, and orange rind. Blend in sifted ingredients.

Zucchinis are abundant right now, this is a great
way to use a couple extras up.

These make the bread feel dessert-like.

Confession:  when I started looking for recipes this is the first one I found.  I turned my nose up and blew right past it because I thought oranges had no business in my zucchini bread.  Little did I know...

The surprise that makes this bread outstanding.

Turn batter into your two greased loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes, or until bread tests done. Remove loaves from pans, and cool. Chill before slicing.

We ate the entire loaf

in two days.

Sushi Steal.

About a month after moving here, I rediscovered restaurant.com.  What's that you ask?  It is a website that you can buy restaurant gift certificates for a fraction of their value.  For example:  I bought a $25.00 gift certificate for $3.00... 

O'Yummy.

As with most 'bargins', restrictions do apply. The gift certificates are (usually) valid Sunday - Thursday and there is (typically) a minimum purchase $10.00 more than the total value. All in all, still a pretty good deal...

Filled with lil' shrimpies.

Naturally I wanted to test this out at a local sushi spot I'd heard good things about.  O'Sushi was very good.  The shumai was excellent and I would order one of the two special rolls I got again.  Not that the Yellowtail Hako was bad but the Crystal Roll was outstanding...

 

The combinations are endless.

Weekend Brunch.

This weekend was wonderfully relaxing, filled with lots of time in the sunshine, brunches with friends and catching up on my summer reading.  Having back to back brunch on Saturday and Sunday not only spoiled me but gave me new appreciation for the more creative side of eggs...

Kendall Square.

 

They always bring a smile.

Saturday brought me over to Cambridge where a girlfriend and I had a rather relaxed brunch at The Friendly Toast.  Too hungry to wait we saddled up at their eclectic bar and ordered a couple Bloody's - extra spicy.  The menu is half a dozen pages long but I finally settled on Ole Miss. What cinched it was the mashed chipotle sweet potatoes.  The mango sour cream didn't hurt either...

My new hot spot.

 

Scrambled.

Served over homemade cayenne-cheddar toast.

The spoofs on name brands provided many laughs.

Sunday I got the chance to meet up with good friends that were home visiting from the west coast.  The commuter rail runs right into Providence so we spent the afternoon in Wayland Square.  Having hours to burn, we grabbed a leisurely brunch at Red Stripe.  I ordered the Poached Eggs Over BBQ Pork Hash. I love when a food usually left to lunch or dinner finds it way into breakfast dishes...

Red Stripe tree.

Poached.

They use a Guatemalan salsa recipe.

Already looking forward to the next brunch.

Summer Flavor.

When I woke up this morning there was a fall-like chill in the air; a reminder that summer is rapidly coming to a close.  In honor of a summertime favorite I made Blueberry Coconut Muffins with the fresh blueberries I bought yesterday at Haymarket...

BLUEBERRY COCONUT MUFFINS

2 cups flour

1 TBSP baking powder

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup coconut, toasted
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin and line with paper muffin cups.

 

 

Summery blues and yellows.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Stir in toasted coconut.  Combine egg, melted butter and milk. Add to dry ingredients and mix lightly till combined.

Don't forget to toast it first.

Toss the blueberries with 1 TBSP flour. This prevents the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins. Fold berries into the batter.

A delicate balance of sweet and tangy.

Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees for 17-20 minutes or till they test done.

My whole apartment smelled delish

while they were baking in the oven.

Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and finish cooling on a rack.

Best served warm with a hot cup of coffee.

Stiff Peaks.

I am a sucker for anything coconut.  Especially when that coconut is covered in chocolate.  So you can imagine my delight when I discovered a recipe doing just that.  I skim the recipe: 7 ingredients, 6 steps; pff, no problem!  Wrong...

CHOCOLATE COCONUT MACAROON COOKIES:

14 ounces sweetened coconut flakes
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 tsp kosher salt
12 ounces chocolate
2 TBSP shortening

Adjust your oven racks so one is in the center of the oven. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla until well blended.

 

The base for all things good.

Beat the egg whites and salt on high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

Looks easy enough.

More than ten minutes in an insufferably hot apartment without a stiff peak in sight. It was almost the end to my poor hand mixer and my desire to finish making the cookies. The recipe goes on to say:

Gently stir/fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture, being careful not to deflate the egg whites.

That is the equivalent of saying "Wear this wool suit out into a hurricane but be careful not to get it wet."
 

 

Geriatric peaks.

Drop the batter onto lined cookie sheets with either two teaspoons or an ice cream scoop about 2"apart and bake for 22 to 28 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack with a thin metal spatula to cool completely.

A labor of love.

Melt the chocolate (I prefer dark) with the shortening. Stir to combine and then dip the cooled cookies in the melted chocolate mixture and let cool.

So worth the effort.

Lo Conte's.

One of the best meals I've had in recent memory was at Lo Conte's in the North End.  From start to finish it was spectacular...

Their featured red.

Dinner anywhere on a Tuesday night is generally quiet but the lack of bustle certainly didn't take away from the atmosphere.  Open face brick walls, beautiful sconces hung over the tables (they are the only light source), and a table by the window looking onto Salem Street was lovely...

A never-ending bowl.

Up first was an enormous bowl of sauteed mussels. They were great but what made them out of this world was the broth they were cooked in. I wanted to pick the bowl up and drink it like a little kid.  It was that good...

Next came a beautiful Caprese salad.  Fresh tomatoes, even fresher mozzarella, basil with balsamic vinegar.  Mind you, we did not order it, it just showed up like it was supposed to be there.  You know, 'on the house'.  I felt like Carmela Soprano but in a much cooler, non Mafioso husband kind of way...

 

Forgetaboutit.

If I wasn't already won over by Lo Conte's, the entrees sealed the deal.  Gnocchi Spezzatino and Lobster Ravioli.  The latter was unavailable for photograph because it disappeared so quickly.  By far the best lobster ravioli I've ever had.  Bold statement but trust me the goods back it up.  As for the potato gnocchi, it was also outstanding.  Served with sauteed veal, mushrooms, fresh basil, sun dried tomatoes in a delicious red sauce...

Nothing beats homemade carbohydrates.

I couldn't possibly fit another thing, dashing my hopes of ending the night with a chocolate covered cannoli.  If it weren't for my waistline, I would eat here as much as possible...

A digestive pause turned into

a pretty walk home.

A New Twist on an Old Classic.

Looking to make an old favorite interesting, I found this recipe.  While it's a mouthful to say outloud, the end result is scrumptious...

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH CHEESECAKE BARS

Crust:

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

5 TBSP butter, melted

2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8x8 pan with butter, line the pan with parchement paper and butter the paper, leaving enough to extend over the sides.

Add graham cracker crumbs to butter and stir until crumbs are moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.  Press crust mixture into bottom of pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool.

Cookie Dough:

5 TBSP butter, room temperature

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 TBSP sugar

1/4 tsp coarse salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup flour

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth. Adjust mixer speed to low and add flour. Mix just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.

Cheesecake Filling:

10 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Using mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended.  Pour batter into cooled, baked crust. Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls over the top of the filling.

Bake about 30 minutes, or until set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Place in the refrigerator to chill for several hours.

Enjoy with a cold glass of milk.

Gondola di Venezia.

The last surprise of what's turned into a birthday celebration marathon was a gondola ride on the Charles River last night at sunset.  In one of five authentic gondolas in the country, we took an hour long ride in a boat that was originally built in Venice, Italy...

Beautiful craftsmanship.

Filled with cheese, crackers and chocolates.

Hand carved.

Looking back on Beantown.

That's amore.